Week Thirty Seven
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Milton Keynes
SuperChamps
On a cloudy and quite cool autumn morning we welcomed 22 returning DMAX drivers back to the venue for the second instalment of the third season of SuperChamps this year. Among them was Phillip Baboolal, former DMAX Lightweight Champion, who missed round one, and is now fighting for contention in this season! Our championship leaders Jamie Tiley-Gooden, and Carl Stephens were also present, and desperate to maintain that lead as we head into round 3 on the 29th of September.
This round was the first of Daytona’s innovative ‘Heats’ based rounds, where the grids for the two, 10-minute heats were randomised, creating close racing and urgency in overtakes as the finishing positions in the heats contribute to the driver’s starting place in the final race.
The heats phase of the morning was filled with great racing, and a few incidents which led to Dom Balaisitis leading the DMAX away, and Harry Asher in the SODI’s as we entered the 15-minute-long finals.
During the DMAX final, Jack Stewart executed a fantastic move down the inside of turn 2 at the start, giving him a healthy lead over Jamie Tiley-Gooden who was now in second, and Dom who dropped to fourth on lap one as Ethan Pritchard made up places! This battle would continue between Jack and Jamie throughout the race, however the two came together with just minutes to go when Jamie tried to overtake, this led to Jamie winning the race on track, but being demoted to fourth after a three-position penalty, Ethan finished just ahead of Jack Stewart who completed the podium! Dom Balasaitis did some fantastic defensive driving to secure fourth place in the final!
The DMAX Heavyweight category also offered a flurry of entertainment, Behind Carl Stephens, whose performance saw him take victory by three seconds in the end, the battle between Iain Riley, Gareth Baldwin, Barry Morris and Aiden Miller ensued! An incident between Iain and Gareth meant that Barry and Aiden were able to snatch second and third on the road after a great display of efficient and skilful racing. Iain Riley showed what a great sportsman he is, he waited for Gareth after an unfortunate incident at turn 4 between the pair. This is just a testament to the level of respect and sportsmanship on show at Daytona for SuperChamps.
The winners in DMAX Lights in the end were Jamie Tiley Gooden in first, with 54 points scored, Ethan Pritchard in second with 53 points, and Jack Stewart in third with 52! In the heavies it was Carl Stephens going two-for-two, and then Aiden Miller in second, and Gareth Baldwin completing the podium after an eventful day at the races!
In the SODI SR5 Championship! Harry Asher dominated proceedings with a grand-slam weekend, Harry won all his heats and the final, with the fastest lap in what was truly an emphatic display. Adam Green had a solid day on the road and claimed second position, and Akel Hussain finished in third position on their debut! In the SODI SR5 Heavyweight category, Scott Woosey, a returning SuperChamps veteran, also claimed a perfect score of 61 points scored, with Tom Illingworth claiming second with 56 points scored, and Harry Clifford completed the SODI Heavyweight podium with 53 points scored!
Thursday Night League
SODI
Thursday the 21st of September was the date of the second round of Season 2 of the Thursday Night Sprint League at Daytona Milton Keynes, seventeen drivers turned out for what was an enthralling round in tricky conditions, with rainy conditions the night before and on the night, it made for a real test of the driver’s skill! Among the contenders for victory was Yiorgos Meliotis, who was there to rival Jimi Holder for the top step. Jimi was looking to extend his championship lead after taking victory in round 1! It was Yiorgos who was able to take position, with Michael Bowles in second and Norbert Orsos in third! Jimi was down in fifth and had work to do in the race!
In the race, Yiorgos produced a dominating performance and was able to take victory by over twenty seconds, and Mike Rozov, a fresh face this week, was able to prove their talent and take second place to begin their championship challenge and Jimi Holder, who fought very hard all race was able to take third and complete the podium! He has managed to extend his lead in the standings due to favourable finishing positions of the people around him in the standings.
DMAX
Its Thursday once again and round 2, it was a cold wet evening presented the drivers, Lee Schnitzler set an early pace in qualifying with Jack Stewart just behind in second with James Brown in Third.
By the end of qualifying though it was Yousef Bin – Suhayl who took pole with Jack Stewart just 2 tenths behind, Paul Studd was in third place with Lee Schnitzler fourth and Mark Wyllie – Mackay in fifth.
The race got underway with a feisty turn 1 but everyone got through safely. Yousuf lead everyone still after lap 1 with Paul Studd getting the jump on Jack Stewart who fell to third.
Barry Morris fell to the back of the field due to sliding off the circuit at turn 9.
After 7 laps it was still Yousuf leading the way with Paul Studd just behind, Jack Stewart in third and Lee Schnitzler in forth.
On lap 13 Paul Studd took the lead of the race and overtook Yousef capitalizing on a bad overtake of a back marker at turn 2 letting Paul slip by. Jack stayed in third with Lee still in fourth.
On the final lap of the race Paul Studd saw the last lap board then had a spin at turn 2 letting Yosuf regain the lead and Jack Stewart also slipping passed. Paul managed to keep it going and rejoin in third and held on to keep himself on the podium.